Taiwanese Golden Pickle (Huang Jin Pao Cai) 台式黃金泡菜
A modern Taiwanese pickle with a vibrant golden colour, which comes from carrots and Taiwanese fermented tofu blended with garlic, chilli and other ingredients into a rich sauce that coats crisp Chinese leaves. It's sweet, tangy and mild rather than spicy, wonderfully refreshing, and perfect for cutting through richer dishes in the summer heat.
Ingredients
- 700 g Chinese leaves Napa cabbage
- 7 g salt 1% of the cabbage weight
- 225 g carrot 185g sliced, 35g julienned
- Vegetable oil, for cooking the carrot
- 3 cubes doufuru (fermented tofu) about 30g
- 5 cloves garlic about 25g
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 red chilli, diced about 15g
- 1 apple, peeled and cut into small chunks I use Royal Gala
- 70 g sugar
- 95 ml rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Prepare the cabbage: Wash the Chinese leaves and tear or slice into pieces.
- Salt the cabbage: Layer the cabbage in a bowl, sprinkling a little salt over each layer as you go so it's evenly distributed. Mix in the julienned carrot. Cover with cling film, weigh down with something heavy, and leave to sit for 1 hour to draw out the moisture.
- Cook the carrot: Heat a little vegetable oil in a pan and fry the sliced carrot until softened and the colour deepens. Leave to cool slightly, then set aside.
- Blend the paste: In a blender, combine the ginger, garlic, chilli, rice vinegar, doufuru (fermented tofu), sugar, apple, cooked carrot, peanut butter and sesame oil. I use a chopper, which leaves a little texture, but a blender will give you a smoother, silkier paste if you prefer. (Taste and adjust to your liking.)
- Rinse the cabbage: Rinse the salted cabbage two to three times in clean, drinkable water to remove the excess salt, then squeeze out any remaining liquid. Taste a piece at this point. If it still tastes a little raw, leave it to salt for a further 30 minutes before rinsing again.
- Combine and ferment: Mix the blended paste thoroughly with the cabbage. Transfer to a container, cover, and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour to begin fermenting. Pressing a layer of cling film directly onto the surface of the pickle helps the flavours penetrate more evenly. Afterwards, refrigerate for 1 day.
- Serve: The pickle is ready to enjoy the next day.
Taste and adjust to your liking. Add a little more vinegar for extra tang, more sugar for sweetness, or extra garlic and chilli for more heat.
You can add a little extra peanut butter if you like a rounder, nuttier flavour. Sesame oil helps emulsify the paste, but a little goes a long way, so don't overdo it.
For the best flavour, refrigerating for a full day is strongly recommended.
Notes
